Marking machines for cans and other containers



May 3, 1960 A. WILSON ET AL 2,935,015

MARKING MACHINES FOR CANS AND OTHER CONTAINERS Filed July 7, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 uws/vroes WILSON C. SNELLING Av'TokA/srs y 1960 A. WILSON L MARKING MACHINES FOR CANS AND OTHER CONTAINERS Filed July 7, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 s N mwm m Hum WW1 Q w .hu.. 0 3 Q w 3 4! 2 M x 3 [I'll II 8 2 3 2 E I 2 2 W 2 a .4 w 9 I v 2 3 B 4 4 3 4 3 7 o 8 2 3 x w 4 F Y C ATTORNEXS May 3, 1960 2,935,015

MARKING MACHINES FOR CANSAND OTHER CONTAINERS Filed July 7, 1958 A. WILSON ET A 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOk hrrhur WILSON 1C. SNELLING Y ,X J ATTORNBS MARKING MACHINES FOR CANS OTHER CONTAINERS Arthur Wilson, London, and Leonard Charles Snelling, Purley, England, assignors to L. C. Snelling (London) Limited, Alperton, Wembley, England, a British com- Application July 7, 1958, Serial No. 746,852

Claims priority, application Great Britain July 16, 1957 i 3 Claims. (Cl. 101-44) I filled. It is, of course, not possible to apply such indicia safely until the cans have been filled.

Several forms of marking apparatus for this purpose are known which print marking indicia on one end of the can and whilst they are satisfactory for many purposes, they are not satisfactory for the marking of cans which have been subjected to a heat treatment after filling. Beer cans, for example, are pasteurized after filling and closing. The pressure set up inside the can as a result of the heat treatment leads to the ends of the can acquiring a dome shape, and this dome-shaping of the ends is not exactly identical for all cans subjected to such treatment, so that the distance between the top of the dome at one end and the rim at the other end is not constant and thus makes it difficult to print indicia on the ends ofthe cans by means of any device which operates at a fixed height, as for instance printing type carried on a wheel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a marking apparatus which is capable of printing indicia on the ends of cans irrespective of irregularities in the cans.

This is achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing means synchronised to move with a can to be marked and adapted to print on the can in the manner of a hand stamp.

A marking apparatus made in accordance with the pres- Patented May 3, 1960 doming that the top of the can may have received as the result of heat treatment after filling or other minor irregularities in shape which may have occurred. At the same time there is no risk of damaging the printer unit against the relatively unyielding can.

One construction made in accordance with the invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figurel is an elevation of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a section on line AA of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a plan view.

The apparatus is designed to print marking indicia on cans carried on a metal slat conveyor indicated at 1. It is necessary that there should be some means for feeding cans to the marking apparatus, but the construction of the feed is not critical and other forms of conveyor could be used for this purpose. The marking apparatus is built up on a rotating carrier member 2, to which a conventional moulded rubber star wheel member 3 is secured.

ent invention comprises a carrier member rotating about a substantially vertical axis, one or more vertically movable printer units carried on the carrier member at spaced intervals, means associated with the carrier member for engaging a can to move it in synchronism therewith beneath vertically movable printer unit means for causing each printer unit to descend at one point during each revolution of the carrier member to effect a printing operation on a can, an inking means associated with the carrier member and means for causing each printer unit to contact said inking means during each revolution of the carrier member.

The means for causing the carrier member to descend to effect a printing operation must act in such a manner that the printing unit is not forced down rigidly. In a preferred construction each printer unit is carried on a bar guided for vertical movement in the carrier and having a roller on its bottom end riding on a cam track which is shaped at the printing point to permit the printer unit to fall under its own weight to produce a printing impression on a can.

This mode of operation has the advantage of bringing the printer unit into contact with the top of the can with substantially equal force irrespective of the amount of A guide plate 4 is provided with a hinged presser plate 5 acted on by a spring-loaded plunger 6 to press successive cans 7 firmly into engagement with the starwheel 3' at the printing station B at which the can to be marked is supported on a stationary plate 1. The starwheel 3 is preferably substantially synchronised with the conveyor 1.

The carrier 2 is driven by means of a vertical spindle 8 from an electric motor 9, which has a drive pulley 10, the effective diameter of which can be varied in known manner by means of a handwheel 11 for the purpose of rough synchronisation of the starwheel and the conveyor mentioned above. Drive is taken from the pulley 10 through a belt 12 to a second pulley 14, from which it is transmitted through a standard reduction gear box 15 to the spindle 8.

The spindle 8 is secured to a sleeve 16 into which the lower end of an upper spindle 18 is splined or keyed, so that the carrier 2 can be moved vertically in relation to the base frame 19 on which the motor 9 and related parts are mounted, for a purpose which will appear later.

The carrier 2 comprises a lower guide member 20 to which the starwheel 3 is actually secured, an upper guide member 21 and a spacer 22, secured together and keyed to turn with the spindle 18. The upper guide member 21 and the lower guide member 20 are provided with bearings 23 at equal angular intervals to receive heavy rods 24, to which brackets 25 are secured for the support of the printer units 26, which in the present instance are no more than ordinary variable rubber date stamps. Each rod 24 is provided with an upper bracket 27 which slides on a guide peg 28 secured on the upper guide member and this prevents the rods 24 from turning in their bearings 23.

Each rod 24 carries a roller 29 which runs on a stationary cam track 30, supported on a spindle sleeve 31. As the carrier 2 turns, the rods 24 rise and fall in accordance with the contour of the cam track 30 and at the point in the cycle where a printing impression is made, i.e. on the can 7, shown at'the right-hand side of Figure 2, there is an abrupt drop in the cam track 30, so that as the end of the rod 24 goes over the edge of this drop, the rod falls freely under its own weight until its printer unit meets a can to make an impression. As shown in Figure 2, at this point the cam roller 29 is just clear of the cam track 30. If there happens not to be a can underneath the printer unit 26, then the fall of the rod 24 is cushioned by a spring 32 positioned between the top of the upper guide member 21 and the upper bracket 27.

In addition to the printing operation effected at the station B, the printer units are inked at station C during each revolution of the carrier 2. At the printing sta-.

tion C each printer unit 26 is inked by means of an inking roller 33, driven at approximately the same peripheral speed as the printer units 26, The roller 33 runs in an ink bath 34 and is driven through a train of gears 35, 36 from a roller 37, which is in contact with the top surface of the starwheel 3. The inking roller 33 and all its associated parts aresupported by a bracket 38 secured to the flange of the spindle sleeve 31.

The apparatus of the invention is adapted to mark cans of different sizes, i.e. of diiferent heights. For this purpose the carrier 2 is adjustable vertically in relation to the plate 1'. As can be seen from Figure 2, the plate 1 forms an extension of a track support 40 for the conveyor 1. The support 40 is in turn sup-ported above and spaced from a bearing block 41 mounted on the top of a pillar member 42. The spindle sleeve 31 is mounted in bearings 43 in the bearing block 41 to permit it to be raised and lowered, together with all the parts sup ported by it, in relation to the bearing block by rotation of a screw-threaded handwheel 44 which engages a screwthreaded portion 45 on the sleeve 31. By this means both the carrier 2 and the cam track 30 are raised and lowered by an equal amount, so that the height at which the printer units are intended to make an impresison can be adjusted in relation to the support plate 1' and the conveyor -1.

We claim:

1. In a marking apparatus for printing marking indicia on cans and the like, the combination of conveyor means for carrying a succession of cans to a printing station, rotating starwheel means and cooperating stationary guide means for moving the cans past said printing station at a predetermined speed controlled by the peripheral speed of said starwheel means, a carrier member rotating coaxially and in synchronism with said starwheel means, a stationary cam track arranged co-axially with said carrier member, a plurality of printer unit support members riding on said cam track and guided in said carrier member for vertical sliding movement, means preventing rotation of said printer unit support members in said carrier member, and printer units carried by said printer unit support members, said cam track having a single step arranged to permit the abrupt descent of said printer unit support members at said printing station to effect a marking impression.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 further comprising an inking roller arranged at an inking station, said inking roller being positioned for substantially tangential contact by each printer unit during each revolution of said carrier member and being driven at substantially the same peripheral speed as said printer units.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for adjusting the vertical position of said cam track and' said carrier member in relation to said conveyor means, said adjusting means being efiective to move said cam track and .said carrier member by an equal amount.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 914,234 Brown Mar. 2, 1909 1,359,807 Huber Nov. 23, 1920 2,183,064 7 Earl et al. Dec. 12, 1939 2,879,711 Hirschey et a1. Mar. 31, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 518,921 Great Britain a Nov. 29, 1955 

